I think you seem to be more than adequately qualified to teach in Russia with your degree, TESOL certificate and experience. Not being able to speak Russian won't preclude from most jobs as far as I know, but it would help to learn some survival Russian before you go as it will make day to day living more straightforward.

I wouldn't recommend just turning up, as Russian employment law and visa regulations are quite strict. When I worked in Russia from September 2001 to May 2002 I obtained a work visa before I went with a letter of invitation from the school I was going to work with. However, there are other people on this forum who may know other ways of obtaining employment by simply coming to Russia and going to school's in person; I'm basing my advice on my personal experience

You do say you're going to be in St. Petersburg in Spring 2004 for a year anyway; are you going to study there or something like that? If you are, maybe you can pick up work on a students visa, without getting a work visa, but I think working in Russia illegally, without the correct authorisation isn't such a good idea. Try to arrange a job before going would be my best advice.

In terms of salary, the going rate seems to be around 500 to 600 US dollars a month with a shared flat as well. Most places pay some kind of flight reimbursement too. It varies from school to school what benefits you'll actually get.

I hope this is useful for you, and if anyone else can add more detail, or contradict what I've written with more up-to-date information and/or more accuracy, then please feel free to do so

joe-joe's right. You can't sponsor your own visa, although you could enter Russia on a tourist visa (issued by a travel agent) and shop around for a job.

After you find that Nirvana-job, you'd then have to get another invitation from your new employer, and take that to Tallinn Estonia (for example) and come back to Russia with a new visa. This is known as the dreaded 'visa-run', and unfortunately there's no easy way around it. Russian visas are not transferable from one party to another, or from one employer to another. On the plus side, St. Petersburg is only a stone's throw from Tallinn, so doing a visa-run from St. Pete would be a piece of cake.

By arriving in Russia without a contract, and then shopping around ... you may actually find yourself with more options, better options and higher pay. The main question is this - Will you have enough money in your pocket to live on ... and a place to stay while hunting for your dream job? If the answer is 'yes' and 'yes', I'd say go for it. I agree 100% that accepting job offers over the Internet these days may not always be the best way to go.

With regard to salaries - joe-joe's not far off the mark - there are lots of jobs in the $550 to $650 per month range. If you're in either Moscow or St. Petersburg, I'd personally be shooting for $750 to $1200 per month. (with a private flat included at the lower end of that scale)

One final note about the $$$. Language schools in Russia offer the security of a fixed salary and a legal visa, but they generally don't pay very well. If you do end up on the lower end of the salary scale, you can always consider taking on a few hourly gigs to supplement your normal contract. ($20 to $30 per hour for private lessons is a perfectly acceptable rate for both St. Pete & Moscow)

If you were to teach only 5 hours per week @ $20 per hour, that would put an extra $400 in your pocket every month. On top of a fixed salary of $550 or $650 per month, you'd be living on Easy Street.

Russian ability is not a big factor in terms of securing employment, but as joe-joe rightly pointed out, you'll want to start learning it after you order your first steak in a restaurant and discover it was cow's tongue.

Yours truly,
keNt

PS: Ever been to Chonju? I spent 2000-2001 at Chonju SLP ... and survived.

I was glad to be of service! I wasn't sure whether to write anything myself at first, as I felt my info was quite possibly out of date by 18 months or so, but then the post remained unanswered for a few days, so I felt the urge to respond lest people think we were uncaring to the needs of a fellow TEFLer! I was also happy to see that my advice and info wasn't so far off the mark either!

I came to Moscow twice on tourist visas while searching for a job. I agree with Kent 100%: If you can make it here to search for a job then do it. I came across numerous opportunities and felt much more confident about my decision (my next post will describe my decision).

Joe-Joe: working in Russia with a student visa is legal without a work-permit. I'm certain of this. I spent some time speaking with the Center of International Education at Moscow State University and they told me many English-speaking students teach English while taking classes there. They even offered job-searching assistance (it was weak assistance though). Additionally, while getting my diplomatic visa (I'll explain later) I discovered there are three kinds of non-citizens that don't need a work-permit. Those that are married to Russians, those with student visas, and those with diplomatic visas.

As far as pay goes, I have a friend that landed a job in St. Petersburg for $650 including a flat. He has a master's degree and teaching certification with no teaching experience. In my limited experience so far, at least for Moscow, spending as little as $500 a month is barely getting by. I'd strongly advise getting some kind of part-time work.

I don't agreee with the previous poster. I've been in Moscow almost 3 months and I find that I spend $100 a month on food and about $60 a month on entertainment. The average person gets by on $200 a month and so can you as long as you avoid restaurants, pubs, taxis, and other elements of the "expat" lifestyle.

Precisely what is it you disagree with? Do you disagree that not everyone is suited to survive on $500 per month? Perhaps what you mean to say is that you are happy on such a meager salary.

$60 per month on entertainment? Are you living at the Moscow Monastary or are you content with cuddling up to a video and popcorn on your weekeneds? I personally prefer cuddling with my girlfriend. I haven't lived in Moscow for three months, but I don't think I've spent a single weekend-day in Moscow without spending well over 500 rubles. I don't go to the Hungry Duck every Tuesday and Friday and I don't even drink that much. But nothing in Moscow is free save the aforementioned cuddling.

Everyone has their own motive for leaving their homeland and coming to Russia. If you're accomplishing what you wanted to do with only $500 per month, then more power to you. I find it difficult "getting by" on $500 per month. If I need to choose between $500 per month or working harder for extra cash, I choose to work harder -- which was what I was saying in my previous post and that's what I personally would recommend to anyone wanting to come here.

My entertainment consists mostly of classical music concerts and hockey games. The concerts cost as little as $4 and the hockey games are $2.50. So you can see that I can get a lot of entertainment for $60 a month. I work weeknights so I don't have time to kill M-F.

The ironic thing is that despite my low salary I go to more games and concerts here than back in Canada because they're so cheap . I don't hang around pubs and nightclubs back home and I don't here.